Destiny
by SVRaven
Summary: R&A in an established relationship. It can be read as a sequel to Aftermath or a post A Day in the Life story so go ahead and jump in if you haven't read Aftermath. To be safe spoilers through 3x15 alt. timeline after that. Rather dark. Feel free to revie
1. Interrupted

Roslin sat on the cool grass reveling in the feel of the sun on her back when a shadow fell over her from behind. She turned to look over her shoulder, but the calm world had disappeared into a chilling fog. The sound of whispering was all around her, but she couldn't make it out. Then she felt a presence beside her.

"_Laura, I have something to tell you—" _

Roslin woke with a shudder and when she realized that she was still safely onboard _Galactica_ she took a deep breath and waited for her heartbeat to slow. She felt Bill shift beside her and settle again. The voice in her dream had been familiar; it was the Cylon, Leoben. She wondered momentarily if it was another vision, but she hadn't had one in nearly two years. There was no reason to think it was anything more than a dream. _Laura, I have something to tell you— _She shook the unsettling words away and carefully eased out of Adama's rack with the hope that he wouldn't wake. He didn't.

She wandered into the main room where the remains of their interrupted dinner sat on the table. Roslin poured herself a glass of the red wine from the bottle that Bill had brought out from his personal store. Interruptions and fleet business had been the order of the day for both of them. She had spent the previous day shuttling between _Colonial One _and _Galactica _observing the Cylon in the brig, handling continued preparations for Baltar's trial and dealing with Tom Zarek.

Her Vice President had suggested that she declare martial law for the duration of the trial and she was tempted to do so. After all, Adama had no desire to overthrow the government. The extra security forces might prove valuable. She had been considering the issue off and on, until their dinner. By the time the two of them managed to sit down together neither had been very interested in talking about much of anything. They simply sat and enjoyed a quiet moment amid the chaos of the day. A moment that was all they got before their meal was interrupted by a call from the XO.

One of the newly relocated refugees from the _Faru Sadin_ had snuck out of the hangar deck and made an attempt to get into the brig, presumably to kill Baltar. The guard had been stabbed and the refugee severely wounded by a bullet to the shoulder. Bill had stifled his obvious frustration. Then, with a quick apology and an assurance that it shouldn't take long, he left. She had stayed behind out of a simple need for some peace and relaxation.

By the time he had come back she was already half asleep in his rack. She had heard him walk by the table and sit down at his desk. Roslin guessed he had been up for at least another hour before he had finally decided to get some sleep. Interruptions had most definitely defined the current state of things, including her now interrupted dreams. Roslin finished her glass and climbed back into bed to make another attempt at rest.

-x-

Adama woke a few hours later at 0459 to start another day just before his alarm went off. The first thing he focused on was Laura. He leaned forward and planted a kiss on her exposed neck in a decidedly firmer manner than he the last time she had been asleep beside him. It was a relief to not have to hide his feelings around her. It reminded him of his visits to New Caprica and the blatant flirting that they'd allowed themselves, but even when she had just been Laura there had been a certain lack of serious intent behind the flirting, a boundary that neither of them had felt entirely comfortable in crossing. It had been one thing for them to both be making advances and entirely another to openly acknowledge to each other that they had been contemplating a real romance.

Well now they had survived that conversation and there was no more careful restraint, at least when they were alone together. It did make proper decorum in public slightly more challenging, but it was a small price to pay for the opportunity to drop the Admiral facade for a few hours a day.

Adama got up, took a quick shower and changed into a fresh uniform. He finished buttoning up his jacket and grabbed the bowl of cold, algae-based noodles off the table. He carried the bowl to his desk and sat down. While he finished his leftovers and looked over the paperwork that he had been unable to review the night before he was suddenly reminded of years ago when he had been on leave eating a cold dinner while his sons slept in their beds, and Carolanne was lying asleep on the couch.

Cold dinners, long deployments and waking up alone, those were a few of the many things that had made Carolanne unhappy. But he had set her aside along with his ring and had decided to take a risk. Laura was different and he didn't have to keep telling himself that, he knew it. He knew that if nothing else he wasn't about to back out when he had the opportunity to have someone in his life that was capable of understanding him. Besides that, it was a chance to be lighthearted and exercise his sense of romance.

Adama allowed himself a rueful smile over his current lack of resources and the precious little opportunity he had to indulge in anything that wasn't part of the serious business of protecting the Fleet. It would most certainly be a challenge given the present state of affairs and would undoubtedly require some creativity. He had already had to exercise a measure of creative scheduling to even fit in their dinner among the various meetings he had endured the day before. Between Helo's interruptions that reminded him vaguely of a bumbling puppy, his unusual request to speak with Tory and awkward phone calls in front of Saul, nothing had quite gone as planned.

Tory had been relatively easy to handle, much to his surprise.

"I need a favor," he had said when Tory had stopped by his quarters per his request. "I need you to be prepared to do some damage control."

"Sir?" Tory had been mercifully observant. He had seen her gaze drop to his hand and then glance at the ring on his desk. He could almost see her quick mental assessment of the ramifications.

"I'm sure it hasn't escaped your attention that the President and I are—close," he had said. He had taken off his glasses and leaned back in his chair. "The situation has changed recently and Roslin and I have decided to deal with matters between us openly. We are both still dedicated to maintaining complete professionalism and carrying out our duties to the Fleet appropriately. I don't have to tell you to watch out for the press, but I thought I'd give you some warning. We both know that the last thing Roslin needs during the trial is to be fending off rumors that she's involved with the Admiral of the Fleet."

"I understand," she had replied. "There won't be any problems." She had turned to leave and stopped short of opening the hatch. "Sir—to be honest, I don't think you two could have picked a worse time, but—good luck."

Good luck indeed. He was going to need it, he knew. The call that he had received after the meeting with Tory to confirm his dinner plans with Roslin had simply been a painfully awkward, albeit very short, exchange to conduct in front of Saul. He hadn't bothered to explain the situation to his XO. Saul had taken one look at him, flashed a knowing smiled and nodded.

Adama sighed as he abandoned his efforts to concentrate on the paperwork in front of him and was about to reach up to rub the knot in his neck when Roslin beat him to it. He felt her hands slide over his shoulders and closed his eyes while she massaged the tight spots out of his muscles.

"If I didn't know better, I'd think you spend more time at your desk than I do at mine," she said. He couldn't help another smile and felt the tension in his neck fade.

-x-

"I've been thinking," he said. Roslin paused. _What now?_

"Should I be worried?" she asked. If Bill was having second thoughts…well, it was frankly the last thing she wanted to deal with at the moment. Adama looked over his shoulder at her and raised an eyebrow.

"No," he replied with a suppressed chuckle. "I just think that we should be, careful, take things slow." Roslin leaned forward with her arms draped lightly over his chest.

"You were the one who started this," she said just inches away from his ear. "And now, you want to be careful." She stood up straight and withdrew. "Interesting."

"I only meant that we should be careful in order to avoid rumors," he said quickly. Adama got up abruptly from his chair and turned to face her. "I should check in with CIC before Saul worries and comes down here." He obviously wanted to avoid getting into any kind of in depth discussion so Roslin didn't push.

"We wouldn't want Saul to worry," she offered. They would talk about it later. She would make sure that they talked about this later. Adama took a moment to grab his ring and put it back on his hand before he left. Roslin made a note of that and then went about getting ready for the day.

After she showered, Roslin changed into the extra outfit that Tory, being the ever mindful aide that she was, had had sent over to Adama's quarters the night before.

Roslin wandered back over to Adama's desk and while she finished with drying her hair she looked down at the picture of him and his sons standing by his Viper. She had asked Bill about that picture once and he'd told her that it was from a time when Lee still thought that his father was a hero. She had heard other stories about his past service and she wondered how much of the cocky Viper pilot had survived in William Adama. Not much it seemed. She imagined that the war and his marriage must have taken their tolls.

Just as Roslin was gathering her papers in preparation to head out and take a shuttle back to _Colonial One_ she was interrupted by the sound of klaxons and the ship wide announcement.

"Action stations, actions stations. Set condition one throughout the Fleet. This is not a drill."


	2. Collision

"What happened?" asked Roslin when she finally got into CIC. Tigh and Adama both looked at her with a respective mixture of relief and worry. Adama faced her squarely.

"There's been an explosion on _Colonial One_," he said. "A SAR team has been dispatched. No Cylon contacts as far as we know." Roslin suddenly felt like the floor had shifted under her and dropped away.

"How—" She paused to try and work the tremor out of her voice. "How bad, is it?" She saw Bill step toward her and he almost reached out with a gesture that would have unmistakably been a one armed hug, but he caught himself and rested his hands on the command table instead.

"We don't know yet," he said quietly. Tigh remained silent and kept his gaze fixed on the Dradis screens above him. Roslin couldn't help but think that perhaps she should have acted on the advice of her Vice President. There were 374 people who called the _Colonial One_ home. She knew nearly all of them by name, and which ones were married, and who among them had children that she had taught. And now they were all in danger.

"Do—Do we know, where, the Vice President is?" she asked slowly. It was starting to feel like the attacks on the Colonies were happening all over again.

"Last known location was the _Astral Queen_," mumbled Tigh. He was still staring at the Dradis console.

Roslin couldn't be sure, but she could have sworn she just felt the Galactica sway.

"Sir!" called Dualla urgently. "SAR team reports that _Colonial One_'s engines have detonated and that the ship has been, destroyed." The Lieutenant paused and visibly swallowed. "They say there are—No survivors. Sir."

Roslin took a breath and felt it catch in her chest. _No survivors_. She didn't even really hear Dualla's continued sitrep, something about a damaged shuttle and some Raptors. Roslin put a hand across her eyes, braced herself against the command table and tried to control her unsteady breathing. _No survivors._ This was worse than the attacks on the Colonies. The deaths of 20 billion had seemed terribly abstract compared to the 374 people she had just lost. 374 out of barely more than 41,000. _No survivors—oh Gods._

She stiffened and nearly broke down when she felt Bill's hand come to rest on her shoulder. The gentle touch was little comfort, but it pulled her awareness out of the crushing feeling in her chest long enough to hear what was going on around her.

"Sir, Athena is reporting that one of the damaged Raptors contained—they've found a Cylon sir."

"_What?_" said Tigh and Adama in unison. Roslin felt a chill wash through her body, like she had been dumped into a vat of ice water. _Laura, I have something to tell you—_

"Which model?" she demanded. Tigh redirected his glowering features toward her. Adama had withdrawn and had wisely chosen to give her some distance. Roslin knew what one it was going to be even before Dualla had consulted Athena and answered back.

"She says it's a copy of Leoben, Madam President." Roslin did her best to appear calm. She fought to maintain her composure despite the surge of panic and fury._ Leoben_. He was responsible for _Colonial One_. She knew it.

"Lieutenant," she said sharply. "Tell Athena, that I want to that, _thing_, escorted to the brig. Immediately." Roslin didn't wait for Dualla to nod and pass the message along; she was already headed out of CIC by then.

-x-

"Colonel, you have the con," snapped Adama and he went after the President. He paused only to order the first Marine guard he saw to follow them. He had no idea what the hell was going on, but his instincts told him that there was more here than Roslin being emotionally distraught. He jogged to catch up with her and knew immediately by the expression on her face that he wasn't going to get any answers if he started asking questions now.

They passed through the corridors in silence and at a brisk pace. Half of him wanted to stop her and take her in his arms and comfort her. The other half was becoming increasingly frustrated and wanted to stop her in order to demand an explanation. He did neither.

They got to the brig before the Cylon and had to wait. Roslin had started to pace and he watched her intently, trying to decipher what she was thinking. It was no use. He opened his mouth and was about to ask her just what was wrong when Athena and a pair of Marines dragged in a noticeably injured, but fully conscious, Leoben.

"Sir." Athena came to attention and offered a salute.

"Thank you Lieutenant," responded Adama with a return salute. "That'll be all." Athena nodded and left the room. Roslin had finally stopped pacing and was staring at Leoben while the guards tossed him in the cell, pulled the door closed and secured it.

"Everyone out," she said. Her voice was flat and there was a certain remoteness in her tone that he hadn't ever heard before. The Marines filed out of the room dutifully, but each one glanced at the Admiral as they passed. He hadn't moved.

Leoben sat in a heap on the floor of the brig with a bemused expression on his face and that feral grin that Adama knew so well. The miserable, masochistic frak was having a grand time already.

Roslin must have noticed that Adama hadn't left because she turned to fix her gaze on him. She told him to leave. He stood a little straighter and returned her look with a glare of his own. He intended it to say that he wasn't going anywhere, but he wasn't sure that she got the message.

"William. Please." She had never called him by his full name like that before. Something was _very_ wrong. Adama felt his face twitch at the sound of quiet laughter from Leoben. This wasn't right. He couldn't just leave her here. Not alone with that sick bastard. But how could he deny her when she looked at him like that? There was enough resolve in her expression that it could strip the paint off the bulkheads. It stung. Why didn't she want him here? Why didn't she trust him? He clenched his jaw and suppressed another twitch while he dropped his eyes. _Don't do this to me Laura, not now._

Adama glanced over at Leoben. The bastard was still grinning with his teeth bared and his steel blue eyes promised harm, to all of them. With one last effort the Admiral looked back at Roslin, but her demeanor hadn't changed so he turned sharply on his heel and left. The image of Leoben grinning in his cell followed him all the way back to CIC.


	3. The Devil You Know Part 1

Once she heard the hatch close behind her Roslin directed her undivided attention to the Cylon. He was pleasantly staring at the ceiling.

"Why are you here?" she asked. Her chillingly serene tone would have scared any prisoner witless, anyone, but Leoben.

"Where's Kara?" he countered. He was still staring at the ceiling as if it was the most fascinating thing in the universe.

"Why are you here?" she repeated. She stepped closer to the bars, but stayed well out of his reach. What little patience she had at this point was nearly gone. Roslin wanted to have the thing shot, but with the dream, and him suddenly showing up… she had to know why. He started to laugh again. Then he abruptly looked at her and was completely still. Now it was his turn to be disturbingly calm.

"I'm here to help Kara take another step toward her destiny," said Leoben, "and to lead you toward yours. Could you tell Kara that I missed her?"

"Why did you destroy _Colonial One_?" She held his gaze despite her rising anxiety. _I know it was you._ _Why did you kill all of those people?_

"I missed you too." Leoben stood up and leaned his body against the bars with his arms dangling through the open spaces. "The _Colonial One _was a warning. You're in danger." He broke eye contact momentarily and turned back to her with his characteristic smirk.

"I've seen it. Your destiny. That's why you're here. I see it all," he said. Leoben drifted away from the bars and wandered toward the rear of the cell. His attention was focused on the ceiling again and he had his back to her. "You should have let, _William,_ stay. He only wanted you to trust him. But you sent him away because you don't want him to know what I'm going tell you. He spun around on one foot to face her. "He could have saved you—well—he would have tried to anyway."

"Save me, from what?" She had begun to doubt that Leoben had anything particularly useful to offer and yet… And yet if he felt like talking she was going to let him talk. He had pressed himself up against the bars again. He motioned for her to come closer. When Roslin didn't move he broke out into another grin and chuckled.

"Aw, you don't trust me?" He cocked his head to the side. "You don't trust anyone do you? I trusted you. Don't you remember?" Oh, she remembered. She remembered what Starbuck had told her when she had demanded to know what the Lieutenant had learned. _"He thinks he can see the future. Says he knows our destiny, our fate."_ He had been right about Kobol and now he was here, again, to serve some inexplicable purpose. "Laura, I have something to tell you," he whispered.

There it was. Those words that she had heard in the early hours of the morning through the fog of dreams. They were the words that had preceded his last revelation, his insidious lie that Adama was a cylon. They were the words that sent another wave of cold rippling through her.

"You are not the Leader in the prophecy," Leoben said in a low voice. "Baltar is." He gave her a moment to absorb that thought and leaned back, full of self satisfaction.

Roslin had had enough of indulging this machine. It was as dangerous and as unproductive as the last time they had been through this. She turned around and strode resolutely toward the hatch.

"You and Baltar have something in common though," he called after her. "You both get to die for your people." She paused with one foot outside the hatch. She stepped through without looking back. "Tell Starbuck I said hi," said Leoben before she closed the hatch and cut him off.

Roslin started down the corridor fully intending to leave _Galactica_ and avoid Bill Adama at all costs until she had time to think, but then suddenly she stopped. She just realized that she had nowhere to go. _Colonial One _was gone. Most of her staff, nearly all of her security detail, Tory, the whiteboard, her things, all of it was gone. The crushing feeling had returned.

She glanced around and ducked quickly into the nearest empty room before she lost control. She had had the fortune of wandering into one of _Galactica's _empty tool rooms. Roslin closed the hatch and leaned back against it. She finally let her emotions carry her away, but only until Leoben's poisonous words came back to her. _You both get to die for your people._

It had to be a lie. It was what Leoben did. He lied. Well, he half lied. Roslin knew which half was the truth; there was no way that she was going to tell Bill what Leoben had said. She'd had a feeling that any conversation with Leoben would be perilous and she hated to think what he could have done if Bill had stayed. The Cylon would have caught on quickly enough that she and Adama were something more than just the President and the Admiral and he would have used it to his advantage. Leoben would have played them against each other and planted even more insidious ideas in their heads. She knew that she had made the right choice in sending Adama away, no matter what the Cylon had implied. _He could have saved you._

The President knew that she couldn't hide in the tool room forever, but Laura didn't want to face the loss of her safe haven. She didn't want to face Bill Adama. She couldn't go out there, not yet. All she could think of were Leoben's words.

_You are not the Leader. Baltar is. You get to die. _

_William. He only wanted you to trust him. _

_He could have saved you._

-----------------

Note: Just wanted say thanks for the reviews. I'm glad people are enjoying it. And yes Lady H, poor Laura. Poor, poor Laura. I don't want to be this mean to her really I don't (okay so maybe I do a little), but ouch. The next part probably won't be up until late Monday due to BSG being on TV and all… Thanks again for the comments –SVR.


	4. The Devil You Know Part 2

Bill Adama wanted to break something, preferably Leoben. During his journey back to CIC he had seriously considered turning around with his Marines in tow, having Leoben dragged out of his cell and just beaten senseless. But Laura had wanted him to leave so he had left. Halfway down the corridor he had ordered the Marines with him to return to their posts and he continued on alone, all the while trying to mask his growing inner turmoil.

Now he stood in CIC, fuming, while he listened to Gaeta and Tigh report on the current tactical situation.

"Uh, the damaged shuttle that was nearby was apparently from _Colonial One_ and headed here," said Gaeta. "The pilot, Tory and two members of the press corps, all made it off safely before it suffered a structural collapse and started to vent atmosphere."

"The press corps," snorted Tigh. "They, are probably spreading panic all over the Fleet by now."

"Send a broadcast, Fleet wide, that the President is still alive and safely onboard _Galactica_," ordered Adama. Well, at least she was alive, but safe, he doubted it. He shouldn't have left her alone.

Gaeta left the command table and went to pass the message along to Dualla. Adama turned to his XO.

"Has an assessment been made yet on the wreckage, or how Leoben got his hands on a Raptor?"

"So far the conclusions have been sketchy at best," replied Tigh. "But the witnesses on the shuttle said that the initial explosion came from the inside of _Colonial One_. The recovery team hasn't been able to collect much in the way of wreckage, but Tyrol says he should have something to report by the end of the day. The Raptor appears to have been from the Cylon Fleet. All of ours were accounted for."

"All right," sighed Adama. He took off his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose before putting them back and looking up. "What are we dealing with in terms of losses…"

The Admiral's façade had taken over and he went about doing his duty with the same practiced stoicism that had gotten him through the initial days of the attacks and beyond. Deep down he was starting to lose his grip, but he didn't let it show in the measured tone of his voice, or the businesslike expression. Laura had shut him out and he didn't know what to do. His rage toward Leoben kept getting dragged down by his confusion and his hurt, but he kept it all safely hidden until he saw her return to CIC.

He looked up from the command table when she strode in and his eyes followed her from behind his glasses. She appeared to be fine, but he knew it was an illusion. Adama wondered how much the self control was costing her this time. Then again he wondered how much it was costing him. So many things sacrificed…

She didn't look at him at all when she walked by him and he felt his chest constrict. The President stopped by the command table with Colonel Tigh standing uncomfortably between them.

"Colonel," she said without even acknowledging Adama. Adama was still watching her. "I'm going to need to setup a press conference and let the Fleet know that they still have a President. I would like a security force of Marines assigned, just to be safe." The Colonel nodded and retreated. Adama felt the void that the XO's presence had filled was now like a wide chasm between him and Laura. He glanced down at his paperwork to hide his face.

"So did Leoben have anything interesting to say?" he asked quietly.

"He wants to see Captain Thrace," she replied in such a level manner that it nearly made him wince. He looked her in the eyes to gauge the honesty of her response. "Otherwise, the Cylon said nothing. Apparently, he didn't seem particularly interested in talking to anyone _but_ Captain Thrace," finished Laura with a caustic smile.

He couldn't tell if she was hiding something in relation to Leoben or if she was just covering her emotional state. Either way she had always been so much better at lying. She was also better at reading him than he was at reading her. He hoped that what she read was: pain, uncertainty, anger; heartbreak. But perhaps he had done his work too well and all she saw was the indifferent Admiral.

"I thought you might want to know," he began, "that Tory's alive. I took the liberty of assigning you both quarters onboard _Galactica. _Lance Corporal Ries," he motioned toward a nearby Marine, "can escort you there when you're ready."

"Thank you, Admiral," she said with a nod and headed toward the Lance Corporal. Adama nodded back.

"Laura," he mumbled in response once she was out of earshot. He wanted to follow her, but this time he couldn't, he had a panicked Fleet to take care of and a precautionary jump to make as soon as the recovery and salvage crew had gathered all they could of _Colonial One_'s wreckage.

Adama had seen a small flicker of emotion when he'd mentioned Tory, but otherwise the President's impassive exterior had held. He couldn't understand why she insisted on keeping him at arms length. He had thought that they'd gotten past this kind of mistrust, but apparently he had been wrong again. Maybe Roslin just couldn't help it and no matter what he did he'd keep finding himself left on the outside, watching her walk away.

---------------------

Note: Well now it really is poor Bill this time around. Truly my heart is breaking for this man. And I have to say I loved the "Leoben's words drip with the black rain of evil." comment in the reviews. I think it sums up Leo quite well.


	5. Falling

Roslin sat on the cot with her back against the wall in the sparse quarters that she had been assigned and stared at the ceiling. She realized in short order what Leoben found so fascinating about the ceiling. It was a tranquil and orderly thing to stare at. Tranquility in a world of chaos was precisely what she needed right now.

Avoidance of any sustained interaction with Adama had been the only thing that saved her from a complete break down in CIC. The effort it had taken to lie to him… But Roslin knew exactly how he would have responded if she'd told him what Leoben had said. He would have told her not to believe a single word of it. If the Cylon had been lying then it wouldn't lead to any harm. It would amount to nothing more than Leoben's attempt to scare her.

But what if it wasn't a lie? What if she had told Adama and a week or a year from now she ended up dead, what then?

She knew exactly what. Bill would feel guilty for telling her to ignore Leoben, and for ignoring the Cylon himself no matter how irrational it seemed. It would be the last thing that man needed. He already shouldered enough guilt and didn't need any reason to add to it, whether it was real or imagined. So she had lied, in an effort to spare him. She knew he would assume her avoidance was mistrust and that that would hurt him and that eventually, he would be down here and he would try to make her tell him the truth. But for right now she could sit and stare at the ceiling and that was all that she intended to do.

Roslin had thoroughly lost track of time when she heard a muffled knock on the hatch. She stifled a groan. _Not this soon, Bill…_

"Come in," she called. The hatch opened and Tory reluctantly poked her head into the room.

"Madam President?" Tory had a bandage across the side of her forehead and a darkening bruise on her face just below it.

"Oh, Gods, Tory, come in," replied Laura in a rush of overwhelming relief. She got up and gave her assistant a quick hug. "Are you okay?" Roslin noticed the awkward expression on Tory's face and realized belatedly that she was probably behaving just a little too relieved that it was Tory and not Adama that had stepped through that hatch.

"I just got back from Doc Cottle and he says that other than a few bumps and scrapes I'm fine," replied Tory. "I thought I'd see how you were doing."

"I'm, exhausted, already," said Roslin. She sat down on one of the chairs near the table that resided on the right hand wall and motioned for Tory to take the other chair. "What time is it?"

"A little after eight," replied Tory as she sat down.

"I, uh, have to address the Fleet sometime soon today." Roslin did her best to focus and assess all of the things that they would need to do now that _Colonial One _had been lost. "We're going to need to setup a new office on _Galactica_, at least for the time being and—"

"Madam President," interjected Tory gently. "I can take of all that. But, we have a bigger problem." Roslin paused and waited for Tory to continue. "That explosion on _Colonial One_. I have no doubt that it was an assassination attempt."

-x-

Adama stood in CIC after the Fleet had made two jumps to just to be safe. He read over a report from Chief Tyrol and his preliminary analysis of what they had recovered from _Colonial One_. The Chief had found burn marks on several interior sections that matched up with the witness statements that the first explosion had come from inside _Colonial One._ The report concluded that further analysis was unlikely to yield anymore information and that evidence suggested that a tylium bomb had been onboard.

The implication was easy enough to make. Someone had attempted to assassinate the President and Leoben had managed to show up at just that moment when their Dradis wouldn't register the new contact. The Admiral felt that it was about time he went and questioned the Cylon himself. He left Colonel Tigh in command and made his way down to the brig.

"I was wondering when you'd come back," said Leoben the moment that Adama entered the room. He had come alone. The Admiral strode up to the cell and stopped within a foot of the bars, probably closer than was safe, but at the moment all he needed was an excuse and he was prepared to cause considerable harm to the prisoner.

"Did you plant a bomb or otherwise sabotage _Colonial One_?" Leoben blinked and stared back at him, unfazed by Adama's fierce glare.

"I, saw, that it was going to happen," he replied. "I just took advantage of an opportunity. Could you tell Kara that I want to see her? The President—she probably forgot that I asked."

"What did you and the President talk about?" Adama couldn't keep his rage from surfacing while he faced Leoben and he was already hard pressed to even wait for him to answer. Leoben took his time. He approached the cell door and leaned against it.

"I knew she wouldn't tell you," he said with deliberate smile. "I knew you would be back though. I see, all the paths to destiny. So I saved the best part for you." Leoben ran his hand down the length of one of the bars. "Do you _really_ want to know what I've seen?"

"Don't try and play games with me," snapped Adama. Leoben broke out laughing. Then with the lightning quickness that only a machine was capable of, he grabbed the front of Adama's uniform through the bars and yanked him close. Adama tried to pull himself away and the steel vibrated at the impact of his left shoulder with the cell.

"I saw her blood, on _your_ hands," Leoben whispered. Bill Adama lashed out with a right handed jab to Leoben's face. The Cylon let go and collapsed backwards onto the floor. He sat up a second later and wiped a hand across his mouth to clear away the steam of blood that had erupted from his now obviously broken nose.

"You should really watch your temper Bill," he said and spit a tooth out into his hand. He looked up Adama with an expression of sincere reproach. "Someone you love could get hurt if you don't." Leoben peered down at the tooth in his hand and was apparently tremendously amused. He started to laugh again in an uncontrollable fit while blood soaked into the front of his gray shirt and sprayed onto the brig floor when he tried to breathe.

Adama glowered down at the delusional machine and stormed out of room. His shoulder was probably going to be bruised and his hand felt like he had punched a bulkhead, but right now he didn't care. He stopped just outside the brig and examined his knuckles; they were scraped and bloodied, but otherwise fine. Then Adama found the nearest phone and once he had Saul on the line he ordered the Colonel to put Lee in charge of Roslin's security team and have Starbuck meet him in his quarters.

"And one last thing," he said with a glance down at his injured hand. "I want Leoben put out an airlock as soon as possible. That'll be all." He would have shot the Cylon himself, but in his rush he'd forgotten to bring a sidearm. Adama rubbed his sore shoulder. It had probably been for the best.

-x-

Roslin had spent over a half an hour with Tory discussing who would have the resources and the opportunity to attempt her assassination, but speculation was rather worthless at this point. Tory had suggested that perhaps Zarek was hoping to make another play for power, but Roslin had rejected the idea. Tom Zarek had learned his lesson on New Caprica and he certainly wasn't stupid enough to think that Adama would leave him in office if murder was involved in Roslin's removal.

It could have been a disgruntled worker on one of the tylium refineries who most definitely had access to explosive material, but then again they would have had a hard time getting onto _Colonial One_. It could have been someone posing as a member of the press. It could have been one of Zarek's former associates who hadn't had a similar change of heart and wanted to see the Vice President returned to power. Tory was in favor of that theory. It could have been one of the few newly assigned members of her security detail whose background checks may not have been thorough enough. But they were all dead. There were simply too many variables, and without any survivors who were actually on the ship to have seen who placed the bomb, there was virtually no way to know what had happened.

In any case they didn't have any more time to discuss it. Roslin had scheduled her press conference for 0900 and it was almost time to head down to the informal press room that had been setup. Tory had insisted that Roslin stay put until a Marine escort arrived. After she had waited for what seemed like another hour, but in reality was only a few minutes, the hatch opened and Admiral Adama stepped through with Lee close behind.

"We're ready Madam President," said Adama stiffly. She glanced at the bandage on his hand and suppressed a frown of concern. Roslin genuinely hoped that Bill hadn't done anything so emotional as to punch a wall because she wouldn't talk to him. She would have to ask him about it after the press conference. He was probably going to corner her for a talk afterwards anyway.

"Thank you Admiral," she said with a nod of appreciation and stepped out into the corridor.

It felt extraordinarily claustrophobic to be surrounded by armed guards and with the Adama men walking on either side of her. She let them escort her the short distance to the press room without objection and was thankful that the Marines stationed themselves along the walls instead of following her all the way up to the podium. Lee and Bill had followed her though, to her annoyance, but apparently the Admiral felt their presence was required. She would have to argue with him about the security risk of it later.

A select few members of the Quorum sat near the front and behind them stood a crowd of the surviving administrative officials and the press. She waited for the room to settle down and began her brief announcement.

"I would like to assure the people of the Fleet first that I am in fact alive and I will continue serving as President. Martial Law will not be declared at this time," she said. Roslin glanced over at Adama and then looked out over the crowd. "The loss of the _Colonial One _is tragic, but we will overcome it and the government will continue to function in the—"

A sudden disturbance had erupted in the back of the room and there was a shout from an unidentified source.

"Everybody down!" A moment later the sound of gunshots echoed in the press room of _Galactica_.


	6. Tempus Infinitas

"Get Doc Cottle! Somebody get Doc Cottle!"

"I'm gonna kill that bastard—Make a hole!"

"Out of the _frakking_ way!"

"Seal the room!"

"Restrain him!"

Shouting. Biting pain. A metallic taste.

For a critical second Adama couldn't breathe, couldn't move, couldn't think. Something felt wrong, like a shard of glass was digging into his shoulder.

He was on the ground. His left arm was pinned underneath Roslin. He felt the all too familiar heat of blood pooling around his arm and soaking into his uniform. Then he realized that Roslin wasn't moving.

Panic seared through him. Adama wrenched himself up and examined her. The bullet had pierced the left side of her torso just under her ribcage. There was already so much blood—

"Laura?" He clamped his right hand down over the wound and reached up with the other to check her pulse. It was erratic and weakening. _No No NO! _

He vaguely heard Lee yelling in the background.

"Get the frak off me! I'm going to kill that motherfrakker!"

"Stay with me Laura—Stay with me," Adama breathed urgently. He was losing her and in that moment of understanding time stopped.

He didn't hear Doc Cottle's arrival on the scene or Lee's continued outrage. He didn't see the Marines that had surrounded them as a precaution against a second assassin. All he heard was his own ragged breathing. All he saw was Roslin, unconscious and dying right beside him. He laid his other hand on top of the wound, but he couldn't stop the bleeding.

Adama was momentarily jerked back into reality when he felt someone trying to pull him back. Cottle had pushed him aside and was directing the people nearby with perfect military efficiency. Bill heard the Major's voice, but he kept sliding back into the single minded concentration on Roslin and Cottle's words just weren't getting through.

"She's going into hypovolaemic shock—You, get him out of here."

Adama felt two pairs of hands haul him to his feet. He didn't struggle, he just stood there, paralyzed, in a state of dazed awareness. From his new vantage point he saw the press and Quorum huddled in one corner of the room. There was an unconscious—possibly dead—man slumped against one wall with a deep gash above one eyebrow and livid bruises across his face. Lee was being restrained by two Marines, his knuckles shone wet and crimson even from a distance.

Bill dropped his gaze. The entire left side of his navy blue uniform was stained nearly black and soaked through and through. His arms were streaked and his hands sticky with Roslin's blood. _Do you_ really_ want to know what I've seen?_ _I saw her blood, on _your_ hands._ He felt like he was sinking into an unremitting fog. The universe had crumbled down around him. Roslin was dying and for the next five hours that was the only thing he knew.

----------------

Note: For inquiring minds this chapter very very poorly translates to "An Infinite Moment". It's probably in the way wrong case and very butchered Latin, but it sounded nicer than if it was actually correct. Call it artistic license. The only other thing I can say is: Stay with me.


	7. Steadfast

For the second time in two months Bill Adama sat down in sickbay, but this time it was different. He hadn't come to offer comfort to someone facing certain death. He was there to be comforted himself. In the hours since Roslin had been shot Adama found that his military training had somehow abandoned him. Without it he couldn't think, couldn't act, couldn't remember. All he could remember of the last few hours were brief flashes, a stretch of corridor, the pounding echo of Marine boots, an open hatch, a hand on his chest that had stopped him from following.

Then the waiting started.

He didn't know how long he waited, but he finally came back to himself in the middle of Doc Cottle's report on her condition. The bullet had gone nearly all the way through and caused only moderate long term damage. Beyond that, the only other part of Cottle's assessment that Adama cared about was the Major's conclusion; granted that there were no further complications and given time, he was optimistic that she would make nearly a full recovery.

Once he knew that she wasn't about to die on him anymore, Adama went back to his quarters and finally cleaned up. He felt oddly disconnected while he discarded his ruined uniform and showered to wash away the blood that had dried during his long wait. By the time he put on a fresh uniform it was almost as if none of it had happened. But as soon as he made his way back to sickbay and was allowed to see her, he felt the reality of it sank in again.

So he sat down beside her still unconscious form and he told himself that she was going to be all right. Adama clung to that thought and watched it being reaffirmed with every breath she took. Roslin's face was pale and when he grasped her hand in both of his it was cooler than his own. It was a strong reminder of when she had been dying of cancer. But in a way this had been worse than watching her fight the cancer, because it had been so sudden. Laura had been fine this morning, sleeping beside him, but then in the space of several hours everything had changed and he had found himself unable to function as a leader, or anything else for that matter.

The Admiral didn't understand what had happened to him. On the day of the attacks when everything had ended and he had thought that he'd lost Lee he had moved past it, he'd done his duty to command and protect his ship. He hadn't been paralyzed, not like today— What was it about her that made him react that way?

Leoben had implied that Roslin was someone Adama loved. So he loved her. He loved Lee too. He loved Starbuck, Tigh and the rest of his crew. But they were all military and therein laid the difference. He had been trained to accept that the people around him could die between one heartbeat and the next and that you grieved for your lost soldiers later, you always carried out your duty first. Even though he loved his son deeply, in his eyes, Lee was a soldier first. Roslin wasn't. And after she had survived her cancer it had been all too easy to believe that she was safe. After New Caprica it had been easy to believe that she was invincible.

The truth was that Laura wasn't invincible. She was just as vulnerable to death as he was. The shattering of that illusion had undermined all of his training and all the emotional barriers that kept him capable of commanding the Fleet. That subversion of his training had been what he had been afraid of, it was why he had mentioned that they should careful. And she had reminded him that he was the one who started it and she was right.

He'd started it all by giving her a book and a kiss. Then now, when they were so much farther down the path, just as soon as they had both finally been comfortable with acknowledging their relationship, he was the one who had thought about pulling back. _How ironic_. _But it doesn't matter now, because it wouldn't have made any difference._ Even if they were only friends he still would have lost control.

For now, what mattered was that he was here, in sickbay, holding her hand and watching over her. And Bill kept his contemplative vigil until Lee gently interrupted.

"Uh, dad," he said. "Colonel Tigh sent me here to go over the current sitrep." Lee stood across from him with a determinedly passive expression while he stared straight ahead.

"You okay son?" asked Adama. Lee finally dropped his gaze to look at his father.

"Yeah, I uh, snapped for a little while there, but I'm fine now," he replied with his characteristic stiffness. "Unfortunately our would-be assassin is dead. Cottle said the gunshot wound he sustained from the Marine would have been fatal, but that I uh, finished him off." Adama could vaguely recall Lee shouting and the Marines that had been forced to restrain him. His son had now been present for the assassination attempts of two people that he cared about. The first time Lee had been helpless. The second time he'd reacted in the only way he knew how and Adama didn't find any fault in that.

"Has he been identified?" Adama's voice was quiet and for the most part he was still watching Roslin.

"Azron Tane, a Sagittaron formerly from the _Astral Queen_," replied Lee. "He used to be a fan of Zarek's and joined the press corps during Baltar's administration. He must have found a way to make a copy of his pass before it was confiscated. And on that note, our _esteemed_ Vice President has been requesting to see you ever since he came aboard _Galactica_."

Adama glanced up at his son and then back to Roslin. He didn't want to leave her, but with the security situation the way that it was he knew it would be unwise to have all the Fleet leaders in one room, even if sickbay was one of the safest areas in the ship.

"Tell him I'll be there shortly," he sighed.

"Uh, one last thing, sir." Adama could detect a sudden undertone of amusement in Lee's voice. "The Colonel wishes to inform you that he was unable to carry out your orders to airlock the Cylon. An adequate escort of Marines wasn't immediately available at the time and apparently, shortly before the assassination attempt the Cylon prisoner was, stabbed through the neck with a combat knife."

"Understood," replied Adama. They both knew that the perpetrator was probably Starbuck. The Admiral couldn't say that he felt particularly inclined to throw her in the brig for the improper execution of a Cylon prisoner. "If you could just give me a minute…"

"No problem, sir." Lee came to attention and offered a brisk salute before he left sickbay.

The Admiral stood up and hesitated. He still didn't want to leave her here alone. He didn't want to take the chance that she would wake up without him there. But the business of the Fleet had come calling again and it was his job to handle it, especially since she was unable to. Besides that, he had a few questions to ask Tom Zarek. Roslin may have allowed Zarek to retain the Vice Presidency, but Adama still had his reservations about her choice of successors.

Bill released her hand and leaned down to rest his palm on her cheek.

"Stay with me," he whispered firmly before he kissed her lightly on the forehead. He straightened his posture and was about to leave when he caught a glimpse of his left hand. Due to years of habit he had entirely forgotten that his ring was still there from this morning when he'd put it on. He had put it back on before he'd left partly because he felt vulnerable without it and because it was the only thing that visibly separated the roles of Bill Adama the man and William Adama the Admiral of the Fleet.

For the second time in recent days he took off his wedding ring. Bill bent down and slipped the warm gold band onto Laura's finger. Now, if she woke up while he was interrogating Zarek she would know that he had been there and that he had wanted stay there. She would know that even if he couldn't always watch over her, somehow, he would always be there for her.

Bill kissed her once more on the lips and then the Admiral dutifully walked out of sickbay to go meet the Vice President.

--------------------  
Note: cue Roslin and Adama theme song Apologies for the delay, a snowstorm decided to keep me away. I should be back to regular posting. Story's not over yet... 


	8. Alone

"How is she?" asked Zarek as soon as Adama stepped into the wardroom. The Admiral couldn't tell if that really was genuine concern in the Vice President's voice, but he didn't care much at the moment. He was more annoyed than anything to have to deal with Zarek instead of being back in sickbay.

"She'll be fine," Adama replied as if there wasn't a doubt in his mind. Secretly he wasn't so sure, but there was nothing he could do about that now. "Give us the room." Adama directed a calm stare at Zarek. Lee and the rest of the security detail that had followed the Admiral to his meeting filed outside and left the two men alone.

"Should I be worried?" Zarek had been half sitting on the table in an attempt to appear casual, but the subtle tensing of his body in response to being alone in a room with the Admiral gave him away. He was worried.

"Azron Tane," said Adama. "You're going to tell me everything you know about him. Right now." He didn't bother to hide the implication of suspicion in his statement.

"You think I had something to do with Laura getting shot?" Bill felt the muscles in his jaw tense at the sound of her name. "I had _nothing_ to do with that. If your loose canon of a son hadn't beaten Tane to death, then maybe you could get some answers from him, but I have no idea what compelled him to try and assassinate the President."

The Admiral was not amused by Zarek's flippant answer. He advanced on Zarek and stopped within a foot of him.

"Don't fence with me Tom," he growled. "I'll be honest. I still don't like you. I think you're dangerous, and the only reason why I don't have you airlocked as a terrorist and a collaborator is because the President won't let me. It also might be prudent for you to remember, that my loose canon of a son, is the _only_ reason, why Starbuck didn't put a bullet through your head when she had the chance. Now I want answers and you're going to give them to me, or you're going to have a problem."

"Is that a threat?" Zarek was no longer leaning on the table, but had straightened up to his full height in response to Adama's attempt at intimidation. Bill grabbed Zarek by the collar.

"What d'you think?" He was getting sick of trying to squeeze answers out of people today. "You and your former associates used to like to blow things up and _Colonial One_ has somehow been blown up. Your _freedom fighters _have made more than one attempt on the President's life and now I've had an assassin from the _Astral Queen_ discharging a gun on_ my_ ship. It's not lookin' good for you, so if I were you I'd start talking." _Just give me an excuse._

"Do you honestly believe that I would be stupid enough to try and have Roslin assassinated after all this time?" Adama looked him in the eye and tried to find the reason why Roslin trusted him. He couldn't find one, but that wasn't the issue at the moment. Slowly, Bill loosened his grip and let Zarek go.

"No," he said. "You're not stupid. But you know something." Zarek shook his head with a growing smirk.

"I tried to help you," he replied. "I saw this coming and I tried to make your problems disappear, but you and Roslin put a stop to that." Zarek slid to the side and moved away to pour himself a glass of water from the pitcher on the table. "I warned her about Baltar's trial. I told her to declare martial law. But I guess she just didn't take me seriously or she just doesn't trust you."

Bill felt his jaw clench again, but this time he restrained himself. Zarek took a sip of water and turned back to face the Admiral.

"I got Tane into the press corps during the elections to keep an eye on things, pass along rumors, maybe even catch Roslin at something that might boost Baltar in the polls," explained Zarek. "Then I used him to keep an eye on Gaius. After the cylons found us I got hauled off to detention. I heard rumors Tane was thrown in too, but I don't know. Baltar landed some people into a very deep mess that they might not want revealed while he's on trial and he has some very resourceful enemies. Either way the man you should be talking to is, Gaius Baltar, because even if Tane was pointing a gun at the President's chest, I don't think she was the target."

Zarek took another sip of his water and set the glass down.

"Now if you'll excuse me," he said on his way toward the hatch. "I'm going back to my ship. My suggestion stands, declare martial law and save yourself the trouble of a trial."

Adama watched the Vice President leave and tried to fight down his growing frustration with himself. Zarek was right. Roslin hadn't been the target. She had been a distraction. He was the target. What better way to remove both of the leaders of the Fleet from command than to try and kill one of them? Leaving the other unbalanced, preoccupied, unfit for duty.

But to what purpose? To free Baltar? To hide a secret? To kill Baltar? Azron Tane couldn't have been working alone or else why go through the effort, why risk dying, for just the distraction? Where was the rest of the picture that he wasn't seeing? Zarek probably wanted Baltar dead and he admitted to using Tane as a spy, but what secret could he possibly have that would prompt him to do something so reckless?

Zarek would have known that anyone from the _Astral Queen _involved in an attempt on the President's life would require him to be questioned. _He would have planned on it._ Zarek had come aboard _Galactica _requesting to see Adama, knowing that the Admiral would want to interrogate him. But why admit a connection, why paint such a blatant picture that Baltar had gotten people into a mess, that those "people" had secrets? Why make himself the obvious suspect? Was it another distraction? Was Zarek really trying to help? Was it so that Adama wouldn't believe it was him after all? Had Adama just let the mastermind walk out of his wardroom?

It was all too political. There was too much that he didn't know—Zarek would know that political subterfuge was not Adama's strongest suit. He could easily guess that Roslin and Adama were involved in a relationship and use it against him. After all… Tom Zarek _wasn't _stupid. And Bill was out of his element. That much was certain. It was all too perfect._ Laura, I need you on this one._ He needed her, but she was beyond his reach. He needed her and she wasn't there. He was going to have to get through this one alone. That prospect, more than anything else, was daunting, even frightening. He didn't want to do all this alone.

---------------

Note: Thanks a bunch for the reviews. Scrambles back to writing. Must appease the masses. ) -SVR


	9. Caprican Roulette

Everything was a frakking mess. _"Due to current circumstances I am declaring martial law until the President recovers." _Adama had declared martial law an hour ago and he still had no idea what it had accomplished if anything._ "The Vice President will remain aboard _Galactica _for his safety." _Zarek had remained onboard involuntarily for further interrogation. He was sitting in the brig while Adama resumed his seat beside Roslin in sickbay. He knew he was trapped in a stalemate waiting for someone to make their move. He needed answers. Now he knew how Saul must have felt like after the governmental collapse that had left him in command of the Fleet.

Bill had returned to sickbay for a moment of reassurance and perhaps to search for inspiration too. He held Laura's hand and watched her breathing. She still hadn't woken up and when he had expressed his concern to Cottle the doctor had replied that she was in a stable condition, probably enjoying the vacation and would wake up when she decided that she was rested enough. Knowing how exhausted she had been lately, it would probably be a while. _What a way to get a break from Fleet business. Maybe next time we should plan to take our "vacations" together._

He smiled momentarily at his private joke and tried to relax, but it was proving rather problematic. There was still a dull ache in his shoulder from Leoben. _At least that frakking machine is no longer on my list of problems. _The fall he'd taken hadn't helped that injury any and it wasn't liable to go away anytime soon. His knuckles on his right hand were definitely bruised and made his entire hand stiff. To top it all off the cramp in his neck was back. _Oh, to be young again… _

He would give anything for the past twelve hours to have simply been a dream, to be back at his desk with Laura massaging the knots out of his shoulders, with no concerns except for paperwork from the night watch that he couldn't concentrate on. Or to be back to the night before, sitting down to dinner with a good bottle of wine. If he had known that this is where they would end up today he would have stayed to finish their dinner. They would have talked about the books they wished they had more time to read. He would have made her smile—dear Gods he missed her smile—with some spontaneously romantic gesture or she would have laughed when he failed miserably at it. So many little sacrifices made for the good of the Fleet, but such was the nature of ensuring humanity's survival and protecting the lives of the 41,000 people entrusted to them.

Bill felt better just being in the room with her while he tried to clear his head. The man with the answers was Gaius Baltar, but normal interrogation methods and even some abnormal ones had failed to yield any results. There had to be a way to get the information he needed. _Think this through Bill. You're not an idiot either. You can figure this out if you just think. _

Baltar had managed New Caprica poorly. He had gotten people into situations that could leave them in trouble now that everyone was back in space. Those people could be trying to kill Baltar to guarantee the safety of their secrets lest they come out at trial. People like Zarek would know that the only way to get to Baltar would be to plunge the Fleet into chaos and keep the leaders distracted. Exactly that had happened, but Gaius was still alive in his cell and the security around him had been increased. Short of blowing up the _Galactica_, no one was going to get to him now.

It followed then, that if someone like Zarek or one of his followers were going to kill their former President they would have made their attempt after _Colonial One _had been blown to bits or in the midst of the assassination attempt. It would be much too late now. _So logic says that no one's trying to kill him, at least not with this kind of elaborate planning and that includes Zarek. _That left three options; a mysterious third party with unknown motives was merely trying to terrorize the Fleet, Azron Tane just had a personal grudge against Roslin to settle, or—or Baltar was blackmailing people and the assassination attempt _wasn't_ meant as a distraction, it was a genuine attempt on Roslin's life.

Adama leaned over to kiss Laura on the cheek, whispered a quick thank you for the moment of inspiration and had Saul meet him down in the brig for a little conversation with Gaius. The Admiral stopped off at his quarters on the way and consequently arrived in the brig after Saul.

-xxx-

"Colonel Tigh, Admiral Adama, to what do I owe the inestimable pleasure of your company?" asked Gaius from his cot on the floor of his cell.

"Open cell," ordered Adama without looking at Gaius. A Marine private stepped forward and opened the cell. "Get him on his feet and hold him still."

"What're you doing?" Baltar tried to scramble away from the two guards that went in to secure him. "Excuse me what do you think you're doing? Get your hands off me!"

"Colonel Tigh."

"Sir."

"If you'd do me a favor," said Adama. He handed Saul an old service revolver that he kept loaded in the second drawer in his desk. The weapon had gotten him out of some tough scrapes in the past and he hoped it could manage the job again. "I would like you to remove the bullets from the chamber except for one. Choose which one at random." Gaius continued to struggle while Saul followed the Admiral's orders. "I said hold him still! Saul, the gun please." Tigh handed Adama the revolver and the extra bullets with a slight nod and a downward glance.

"Thank you Colonel." Adama pocketed the extra bullets. "That'll be all." Tigh nodded again and left while Baltar finally settled down. The Admiral looked down at the gun in his hand. "There's a game the Viper pilots played back when I used to fly. I know it's a little before your time, but you've probably heard of it," he said nonchalantly. "Someone would put a bullet into the empty chamber of an old issue service revolver—" Adama cocked the weapon. "And we'd take turns firing the gun at the nuggets that had just joined our squadron. We used to call it—"

"Caprican roulette," finished Gaius. "I'm familiar with it. It was banned after it put six pilots in the Delphi Academy morgue. If you think you can intimidate me into, into—well into what I don't know exactly, but if you think I'm going to tell you anything you're sadly mistaken."

"Normally you'd be right Doctor," replied Adama. He looked up from the revolver and fixed a calm stare on Gaius. "I wouldn't expect something like a death threat to bother you at all because…you think I won't do it." Adama stood in front of the open cell door, raised the gun and pointed it at Baltar's chest. "Normally I wouldn't, but you see Doctor these aren't normal times. I've declared martial law so you no longer have any right to a trial. And everyone knows that ever since I got shot by a Cylon I've been a lot more prone to emotional outbursts than I used to be. Now here I am at the end of a _long_ day of trying to bully answers out of people because I've been _very_ upset today with the President of the Colonies being in sickbay and I think, I still just might be feeling a little emotional about that. So here's what's going to happen; I'm going to ask you a few questions and you're going to answer them or I'm going to pull this trigger."

"You don't honestly expect me to believe—" Adama squeezed the trigger and there was a click.

"That's one," he said. "Now being a genius I'm sure you can calculate the odds of your getting shot if we try this again, but don't forget that Colonel Tigh does not like you very much. So odds are, this bullet is a lot closer up in the chamber than you think. In fact I wouldn't be surprised if he left more than one in." He cocked the weapon again.

"Have you gone raving mad?" He pointed the revolver at Baltar and squeezed the trigger again. Another click.

"That's two." Adama cocked the weapon again.

"All right! All right, I believe you, what do you want to know?" Baltar's voice had taken on a slightly higher pitch. He believed. Good.

"Are you responsible for the destruction of _Colonial One_?" Baltar glanced to his left and stared at a spot in midair as if it contained something important. "Doctor," snapped Adama. "Are you responsible for the destruction of _Colonial One?_"

"How could I be?" he mumbled in reply. He looked back at Adama. "How could I be? You've had me locked me up, locked up for how long now? I can't believe you, you're asking—"

"Did you blackmail Azron Tane into trying to assassinate the President of the Colonies?"

"I have, no idea, what you are talking about." Adama dropped the angle of the gun and squeezed the trigger. There was a flash and the familiar ring of a gunshot. The bullet had hit Gaius in the kneecap. Baltar cried out in pain and collapsed. The Marine guards held him up.

"Ah!—What? You—oh, _God—_" Adama checked the chamber. He tapped out a second bullet and showed it to Baltar.

"I told you Saul probably left in more than one," said The Admiral. Tigh's downward glance and his second nod had told the Admiral all he had needed to know. Two empty chambers. Two bullets. Such was the advantage to having close friends.

"He _really_ must not like you." Adama put the bullet back. "Now are you going to tell me the truth or do I have to put the next one higher up?"

"I—oh, God, oh God—you frakking bast—gah—" The Admiral cocked the gun again. Baltar heard it and started to mumble gibberish.

"Gaius! Tell me the truth or the next one goes through your head," barked Adama. The Doctor started to hyperventilate and had to visibly get himself under control.

"All right," he breathed. "I, did it. Are you—satisfied?"

"Tell me how."

"I just, sent a message, though my lawyer—I threatened to expose—I—told them to do, whatever it took. That bitch—she—the pages. Oh God my leg—" Bill's expression finally darkened at that remark. Apparently Roslin's hatred for Baltar was matched by an equal hatred of her by Baltar.

"Who else is involved? Zarek?"

"No—I knew you would assume he—ah —Warner—Nathaniel Warner—Jago Antares—Ryan Halvar and Tane, that's it—I swear. They were, NCP. They were NCP. Oh God I'm going to bleed to death—really, would you—"

"Thank you Doctor," said the Admiral. Adama stepped into the cell and pushed Baltar down onto his knees. "I'm sure Tom will be pleased to know that he's been cleared. Now that I know he's innocent I have no qualms about taking his advice."

"What? What are you talking about—No, no I—" Tears and panic were written all over Gaius' face. Adama raised the revolver level with Baltar's chest. "Please—I told you—" Bill had decided to spare himself the trouble of a trail. There were probably a lot more former NCP officers that Gaius could blackmail and he wasn't going to risk allowing Baltar to try again. He wasn't going to risk losing Laura again.

A second gunshot rang out in the brig and the former President of the Colonies Gaius Baltar fell dead onto the floor.

The Admiral ordered Zarek's release. The Vice President most likely still had his secrets, but Adama suspected that they were somehow much less dangerous to Roslin than Gaius Baltar's had been.

Bill went to his quarters to return the revolver to its hiding place and clean the blood off his hands. Then he would return to sickbay to wait for Laura to wake up. He was done with having his buttons pushed and wasn't going to deal with anyone else today.

Note: And this chapter started out so nice… but um, yeah. Really people should know better than to upset the Admiral, eventually his patience wears out completely and someone ends up dead… Oops. I've suspected he did some crazy stuff back in the good old days.


	10. Too Late

Roslin remembered the impact of the bullet, but not the sound of the gunshot. She remembered falling and Bill's protective embrace. She remembered the fog that had gathered around her and took her away. Leoben had been there, a whispering shadow beside her. _You are not the  
Leader. You've run out of time. He could have saved you, but you didn't trust him. It's the price you pay._

Leoben had taken her by the hand and started to lead her through the fog into the dark, but another voice stopped her. _Stay with me._ Laura tried to pull away, tried to go back. _He can't save you now._ But he could. He did. _Stay with me. _She fought. She freed herself from Leoben's grasp and she stayed. She stayed. When Leoben finally let go and faded away Roslin found herself awake.

The first thing that she was aware of was that it hurt to breathe. Every inhale was followed by a stabbing pain in her left side that was only moderately dulled by whatever painkillers Cottle was sure to have put her on. It hadn't been so very long ago when she had become acquainted with constant aching and Roslin found a bullet wound ultimately no more discomforting than the cancer had been. She could block the pain out and refocus her attention on other things.

Her quick self  
assessment paused again at her left hand. It was warm. Not only that, but there was a thin band of heat around one finger that was warmer than the rest of her hand. She ran her thumb across the smooth metal and knew exactly what it was; Bill's ring. _Interesting._

When she finally opened her eyes it took a moment for the world to focus amid the sudden influx of light. Once her eyes adjusted she realized that the lights in sickbay had actually been dimmed and it must be night time, or at least what passed for night in space. She glanced to her left and found Bill holding her hand, his fingers intertwined with hers. His chin rested on his chest while he slept in the chair beside her. Even in his sleep he looked troubled.

-x-

Bill woke from his light doze when he felt Laura gently squeeze his hand. He greeted her with what he hoped was a composed smile and returned her squeeze with a firm one of his own. _I'm here._

"Try not to look so worried," she chided. "I'm not going to die today."

"I'll try," he replied. Relief. Relief and sheer joy washed over him. His smile widened. It was untainted and genuine. No, she wasn't going die today. She was here with him again.

"What, did I miss?" she asked. _Still the President first? _

"All the fun, I'm afraid." He heard her sharp intake of breath when she tried to sit up and he leaned over to help her. Bill let her use him for support until she had settled herself comfortably. He reposition his chair to face her before he sat down again and restored his hand to holding hers. "I've declared martial law and managed to very deeply offend your Vice President. Lee, took care of your would-be assassin before anyone could stop him. Starbuck dealt with Leoben and—Baltar, won't be getting a trial after all. He's dead."

"That's quite the body count," she said carefully. He could tell that she was purposely avoiding the part about declaring martial law. _Is that trust I see? I think so. She trusts me—What is the universe coming to?_ He barely heard the rest of what she had to say. "Not that I mind, but why, is Baltar dead?"

"I shot him." She raised her eyebrows in surprise, but otherwise kept her thoughts to herself. "He was, blackmailing former NCP officers and as a result was responsible for both attempts on your life," explained the Admiral. "I determined that he posed an unacceptable risk to the security of the Fleet, so I executed him."

"I see." Her expression had become unreadable, but he hardly noticed. _She trusts me_, was still his overriding thought at that moment. "I guess, that you were serious about making him 'just disappear,' hmm?"

"I'm always serious." He did his best to summon up The Glare out of his current state of ease, but he could tell by her suppressed giggle that he failed. He realized belatedly that it probably wasn't nice to make her laugh.

-x-

Oh, Gods, it hurt to laugh. But, she couldn't help it. Bill Adama actually trying to look grim and severe when he was obviously high spirited was just a bit too much to take. Laura resisted the urge put her hand over the wound that had decided, ever so harshly, to remind her that she had been shot. These days laughter always seemed to have its price.

There was an awkward moment of silence between them and then she saw Bill's gaze drop and become pensive. _Here it comes…_ The inevitable question that she had been dreading…

"Laura," he began softly, "what did Leoben really say to you?" _And there it is._ Rolsin turned her face away._ What he's really asking is; why did you push me away, why didn't you trust me?_ How was she going to answer that? She didn't know if she could. When she had the heart to look at him again she expected to see in his expression the underlying distress that she had become so familiar with over the last two an a half years whenever she had done something that hurt him. But to her amazement, all she could discern from him was understanding and undeniable support. As far as she could tell, whatever emotional damage had been done he'd gotten over it and he just wanted to know, out of curiosity, what really happened.

"He, told me that I should have let you stay." _He only wanted you to trust him—I will. I do. _"And he told me that I wasn't, _The Leader_ in Pythia's prophecy, that Baltar is—was. Then he said that Baltar and I, both, got to die for our people." Baltar was dead. Leoben had been right about that. But she wasn't. Somehow, Leoben had been, wrong, about that. "I didn't tell you, because—" Bill reached over and laid his other hand on top of hers. She could see it in his eyes, he knew why.

_I'm still sorry._

-x-

_It's okay, I know. _This wordless exchange had occurred so many times between them that it was second nature and he couldn't imagine it any other way. But even in the midst of their silent understanding there were still things that simply needed to be said.

"I had a visit with Leoben myself, got a little banged up for my trouble too," he replied with the hint of a rueful smile. "Afterwards, Starbuck and I discussed the precision of Leoben's, prescient, abilities. She said he can only see things up to a point. Beyond that, he lies. We might never know how much of it was a lie. What he said, wouldn't have made any difference. We would have still ended up here."

"How can you be so sure?" He drew her hand closer to him and leaned forward with his elbows on his knees.

"Because we're living on borrowed time you and I," he said with a conspiratorial whisper. "We have been ever since we left the Colonies." He looked down at his ring on her hand and ran his fingers over it. "These things are… bound to happen." He kept his gaze fixed on the ring. He knew if he looked at her that he wouldn't be able to keep control of the rush of emotion that threatened to overtake him. _I just have to say this._

"It's too late for us," Bill said plainly. It was too late to end what they had between them. It was too late to avoid the inevitable tragedy that would occur someday when their borrowed time ran out. It was too late to prevent a broken heart or tears. It was two years too late. It was too late to do anything but accept whatever was to follow, for better or worse.

-x-

"You're right," Laura said with a sigh and calm smile. "It is." For better or worse, they were in this together and they would have to see it through, together.

"I should probably let you get some rest," he said abruptly and broke the spell of tranquility that had settled over them. Reluctantly, he let go of her hand and got up to leave, but she stopped him with a touch on the arm.

"Actually, I don't think I can sleep," she replied. She didn't want to lose the comfort of his presence so soon. "If you wouldn't mind…" _Stay with me. _

"Of course." He paused to kiss her on the check before he sat back down. A moment later he bent down to pick something up off of the floor. "I was reading this, to pass the time." Bill held up a book with a red spine and in fine gold letters Roslin could just make out the title; _Dark Day_. "If I recall correctly, you left off at chapter nineteen."

"I still can't believe I've never finished it." She used to always finish any book she started. "I suppose, seeing as how I won't be going anywhere any time soon… I might as well finish it now," she said. "You should probably start at the beginning." He nodded and warned her to watch her eyes while he leaned over to turn on the fluorescent light at the head of the bed. There was a flare of brightness. She waited patiently for her eyes to adjust while Bill put on his glasses and opened up the cover.

"_Dark Day_, by Edward Prima. Chapter one," he began steadily. "Everything that day had started innocently enough, but as time went on…" Laura relaxed and listened to the sound of Bill's voice while he read.

-x-

It would be awhile before they would reach the end of the book, but whenever he was off duty Bill would walk down to sickbay, sit in his chair beside her and they would take turns reading chapters. Soon enough Laura would recover enough to take up residence in her assigned quarters on _Galactica_, but she would spend the majority of her free time in Adama's quarters instead.

In the evenings she would sit next to him on his couch, he would put an arm around her and they would unwind from the stresses of the day with a bit of reading, a dinner with some wine, and some quiet conversation. Whenever their plans were interrupted, more often than not, Bill would stay at least to finish dinner and learned to let Saul and Lee handle said interruptions. It was the only way he could ensure that he spent time with Laura instead of sacrificing it all for the good of the Fleet as he had been inclined to do in the past. When Laura would stay the night, which was fairly often, they would rely on Tory to make sure that no one noticed.

-x-

That would be their future, but for the present Bill was content to read and Laura was content to listen.


	11. Destiny

_Epilogue _

_-_xxx_-_

_Six Months Later_

-x-

"Dear Gods, I'm going to be late," said Laura while she scrambled to gather her papers off the table in Adama's quarters.

"Well at least this time you don't have the giggles," replied Bill. He stepped through a veritable minefield of torn up note cards and past a broken pencil or two on his way toward the door.

"Don't remind me." Before she forgot, Laura removed Bill's ring from her finger and slipped it into her pocket. _Lords forbid I forget one day and the press notices._

He paused to straighten his uniform and before she could open the hatch Bill caught her with one arm around her waist and kissed her.

"Madam President," he said when he released her.

"Admiral," she replied with her best business-like tone, despite the gleam of mischief in her eyes.

He offered her his arm and she took it.

Once they exited his quarters Roslin handed off her papers to Tory and they made their way down the corridors of _Galactica_ to the wardroom where the press waited. She let go of Bill's arm, paused a moment outside the doorway and made her entrance. Zarek was already waiting at the second podium at the far end of the room. She stopped behind the first podium and took a moment to politely shake hands with Tom. The Admiral stood off to side in the corner of the room and did his best to appear as stoic as ever. That he found political debates to be insufferably boring helped.

It was the second round of debates between Roslin and Zarek. The race was on again for the office of the Presidency now that Roslin had finished out Baltar's term and Tom had been the only man brave enough to run against her. It suited them all just fine. Adama had overcome his doubts about Zarek's character and if Roslin lost, which was unlikely at best, she could look forward to having a bit more free time Bill. Not to mention that, as Zarek's Vice President, a position she had been promised if she lost, there would be less pressure to keep up appearances. Then she and Bill wouldn't have to worry so much about getting caught by the press holding hands or, gods forbid, kissing.

The debate went by in a rush and the two candidates were fielding general questions from the press when one of the reporters asked the inevitable.

"There have been rumors from various sources, Madam President, that you're involved in a romantic relationship with the Admiral of the Fleet. Can you elaborate on this, and whether this conflict of interest makes you unqualified to govern the Fleet?" Roslin smiled and very calmly turned to look at Zarek.

"Now, Tom, you wouldn't be one of the 'sources' for this unfounded rumor would you?" she said with careful good humor. Tory was going to have a fit after this was over.

"Don't look at me, Madam President." He flashed his characteristically disarming grin and waited for her response.

She covertly slipped her hand into her pocket and ran her thumb over the warm metal of Bill's ring. Then Roslin turned back to address the reporter.

"The rumors that the Admiral and I are anything more than professionals and friends are completely without merit," replied the President. "There is no conflict of interest and I think the fact that this Fleet survives, is proof enough that I am qualified to continue as President. Thank you. Next question."

_Tory and Bill, are probably both going to have a fit after this is over_. But Laura couldn't help, but be amused. Dinner was going to be interesting tonight and she looked forward to it. Until then everyone had business to take care of to ensure that the careful balance they had established was maintained.

Roslin and Adama would get through this election. They would continue to lead the Fleet to Earth. They would support each other through whatever tragedies might befall them on the way and they would enjoy the time they spent reading books and talking about their hypothetical cabin in the woods. They would continue this journey together because it was too late for them to stop loving each other.

It was simply destiny.

Author's Note: *cue Roslin and Adama theme song* Good things come to those who wait. It's been fun, the reviews have been great. Hope you enjoyed the story. -SVR


End file.
